Fuyuki's Curiosity
by newanimefan
Summary: One day Fuyuki has a question: What would happen if a human and Keronian had a kid? So he starts sketching... Natsumi finds the doodle and realizes he used her as reference material. Angry, she throws it away, but Kululu finds it. What will he do?
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This is my second Sgt. Frog fan fiction, and I haven't even finished the first one, yet! But this idea popped into my head and I couldn't resist writing. So here we go!

It was a normal day in the Hinata household, or at least for them. Natsumi was trying to get Keroro to do the chores of the day, Fuyuki was reading some occult magazine, and Giroro was baking sweet potatoes in the ground, etcetera.

And it stayed relatively normal until Fuyuki turned a certain page in his book. It read:

Half-Breeds; Is It Possible?

It contained a lot of information on whether it would be realistic to expect alien life forms and humans to be compatible. This interested Fuyuki, and set his brain in motion. What would happen…?

Fuyuki grabbed a sketchpad and started doodling.

Her throat itching from a shouting match with the stupid frog, Natsumi collapsed on the couch to watch TV. As she reached for the remote control, she heard a knock at the door. Sighing, she stood to answer it.

It was Momoka and Tamama, and Natsumi stood aside to let them in. Tamama went straight downstairs, and Momoka asked where Fuyuki was.

"In his room, I think," Natsumi said, and Momoka blushed madly before running up the stairs.

That girl is really strange, Natsumi thought to herself.

Fuyuki looked up from his drawing and noticed Momoka standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Momoka!" he said, putting down his colored pencil. The picture was done, anyway. Not to sound conceited or anything, but he was a really good artist.

"Oh, um, hi Fuyuki. Whatcha drawing?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her feet. It was Fuyuki's turn to blush slightly.

"Well, I was reading this book about the possibilities of half-breeds, and I was thinking what would a half-human half-Keronian look like? So I made some rough sketches of what I thought they would look like. I used the five frogs as Keronian references, and-uh-I used Natsumi as human reference. Don't tell her, okay? Something tells me she won't understand it's just scientific curiosity…" Fuyuki explained, his blush deepening. As Momoka walked over to look at the pictures, a voice emanated from the doorway.

"What won't I understand?" Natsumi asked. She'd been on her way to her room to listen to Mutsumi's radio show when she'd heard a snippet of their conversation.

"Um…" Fuyuki mumbled, and started laughing awkwardly. "Don't kill me, please?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Me again! Anyway, I hope you like the story so far. I came up with this a while ago, but the idea wasn't fully formed until recently. I hope it's at least sort of realistic!

"Fuyuki?" Natsumi asked, her voice quivering in an attempt to stay calm. "What are these?"

"Well, they're Pekoronians. Or Keroponians. I haven't decided yet. They're half Keronian, half Pekoponian. Or human, I guess." He replied, backing slowly away from his sister.

"I can see that. One question," she said, her voice getting dangerous. Finally she exploded. "WHY DO THEY ALL HAVE PINK HAIR?"

"Well, uh, you see, I used you as a reference, so I figured that they should look like you…" Fuyuki said, a sweat drop forming on his head. Natsumi, in a rage, ripped the page out of his notebook.

"Don't you dare try anything like this ever again!" she screamed, and went downstairs to throw the picture away.

These things are kind of cute, Natsumi thought to herself. Then she shook her head. How could he even _think_ she'd have one of those things' kids? I gave her chills and a nauseous feeling just thinking about it.

She tossed the picture into the garbage can. At least none of the frogs had seen it. If they had, she'd never be able to live it down.

She plopped back onto the couch and turned on the TV, sighing as she settled into the show that was on. It was stupid, but she didn't really care at the moment. She turned it up a little louder and relaxed. She dozed off halfway through the episode, and consequentially didn't notice Kululu coming upstairs from another pointless meeting.

Normally, he would either hang around in Sarge's room for a while or he'd go straight back to Saburo's, but as he was about to do the latter he noticed a small piece of paper sticking up slightly out of the trash can. Always eager to dig up dirt on the inner workings of the Hinatas' lives, in a not at all stalker like way, Kululu went over to investigate.

He pulled it out and flattened it, looking it over in one quick glance and instantly coming up with a brilliantly evil plan. He ran back downstairs and into Keroro's room, ignoring Keroro and Tamama's questioning glances. Giroro had already left to go polish his weapons or something. Everyone accounted for…

"Kululu, what…" Keroro started, but Kululu disappeared into the minifridge. He and Tamama exchanged a look before following him in.

"Kululu! Wait up!" Keroro shouted after him.

"Kukukukukukuku…" Kululu said, too excited to reply. This was going to be so evil!

Kululu disappeared into his lab, and for once he didn't bother locking the door. He was too eager to get started. His pursuers followed him in moments later to find him looking at blueprints he'd already finished.

"Kululu! What are you doing?" Tamama asked, looking over Kululu's shoulder at the blueprints. "Are you making a baby doll? That's kind of disturbing. You're a little old for that kind of thing."

"I suppose you could Kukuku… call it that. But it's not for me. It's for Natsumi. And, I suppose Giroro," Kululu replied. Now they looked even more confused.

"So you're making a baby doll for the two people in this house least likely to enjoy it? Confused," Keroro said. Kululu sighed. He'd have to take the time to explain it to them. They should, logically, be in on it so as to make it seem more realistic, anyway.

By the time Kululu had finished explaining, his comrades had busted their guts laughing. Almost as eager for the plan to begin as Kululu himself, they left to let him work. Less than a few hours later, Kululu wiped sweat from his face.

It was done! He could get started tonight…


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again! I don't know why I bother doing these things at the beginning, but maybe it's just habit. Anyway, I literally haven't decided between Pekoronians or Keroponians as the technical term, so if you have a preference let me know soon! Enjoy!

Kululu crept silently up the stairs to Natsumi's room, carrying his creation and a small needle. He opened the door to her room, and tiptoed over to her so he wouldn't wake her. In one swift motion, he thrust the needle into her and gave her the memory-altering drug he'd put together. Once that was done, he set his creation down and ran to get an old folding crib from when Fuyuki was a toddler.

He set it up swiftly, and put his creation into the crib, turning it on as he went. It stirred slightly, then settled, its chest rising and falling gently, now. One down, one to go. He closed the door on his way out, and went back downstairs to get the picture he'd photo shopped. It was an image of Natsumi and Giroro holding his creation with smiles on their faces. He was rather proud of it.

Grabbing a pin and a robocam he could move around via remote, he went back upstairs and out the back door. Carefully unzipping Giroro's tent, Kululu crawled in and pinned his picture up where Giroro couldn't miss it. Then he put down the robocam and went to go monitor the situation from the safety of his lab.

He hooked up his satellite feed with the camera, then sat back and enjoyed a plate of curry while he waited eagerly for morning to come. Being mean to Giroro was so fun…

His robot detected a cry coming from Natsumi's room, and Kululu couldn't help but smile. He'd done well. It was perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story! I know the chapters can get a little short, but I'll try and post close together to make up for it. Now without further ado…

Giroro groaned, rolling over and opening his eyes. Stretching, he sat up, pushing off his blanket. He was about to leave his tent when he noticed a picture he never remembered hanging up. Let alone posing for. A horrible sense of déjà vu filled him, and he flashed back to the time when his comrades had set him up for a hidden camera show.

He did not recall ever holding anything that beautiful. It was so small and innocent, with pink hair a shade darker than Natsumi's and a small birthmark over its eye that looked like a scar. It had short limbs for a Pekoponian infant, if that's what it was, but unlike a Pekoponian, its fingers were webbed. The child had rosy cheeks that were almost but not quite unnatural. To Giroro, it was perfect.

He shook himself out of his daze, and tried to make sense of the picture. It almost looked like pictures he'd seen of Aki holding younger versions of Natsumi and Fuyuki. He and Natsumi looked like the loving parents. But that didn't make any sense!

Giroro's head was starting to hurt. If they were doing the same thing to him again, they were so dead. Natsumi wouldn't be happy, either. But what if Sumomo was in that suit again? Could Kululu have repaired the amount of damage Natsumi inflicted on it?

Justifiably suspicious, Giroro edged cautiously out of his tent, one of his many guns in hand. He scanned the area for cameras, but seeing as the only one anywhere near him was Kululu's perfectly disguised 'fly' camera, he didn't notice anything.

He opened the back door of the house to find Natsumi holding the child he'd seen in the picture while making breakfast. She was making faces and cooing at it. It was so hot…

She noticed Giroro, who began blushing madly, even though he was convinced that he was being made fun of. Her face lit up.

"Good morning, Giroro!" she said brightly, and Giroro decided it was exactly the same as before. Why did it always have to be him? Trying to ignore temptation, Giroro turned his attention to the immediate problem.

"Natsumi, what is _that_? Where did it come from?" he asked swiftly, eyeing the beautiful child with both suspicion and love. It was hard not to love it.

"Giroro? Are you feeling okay? This is Kioshii Itazura Hinata. Remember?" she asked, looking worried, like Giroro should know this already.

"'Beloved Trick'? What kind of name is that? And where did it come from?" Giroro replied, trying to keep focused with great difficulty.

Natsumi looked hurt and worried and frightened. It tore at Giroro's heart.

"You mean you really don't remember? How much do you remember, honey?" Natsumi asked, her voice quivering.

"Well the last thing I remember is… wait, HONEY?" Giroro said, blushing madly and freaking out in the extremes.

"Oh no! You forgot?" Natsumi asked, and started to sob, clutching Kioshii tight.

"Forgot what?" Giroro exclaimed, watching as the infant began to cry, too.

"That Kululu took our DNA and combined it to make Kioshii without telling us and that we fell in love because of her?" Natsumi wailed, and Giroro fell over, something he rarely did.

"WHAT? When did _that_ happen?" Giroro said, and suddenly became suspicious again. "Wait, you're not Sumomo, are you?"

"What? No! It's me, Natsumi! Maybe Kululu should have a look at you, Giroro. You should remember! Don't you want to remember your own daughter?" Natsumi asked, holding Kioshii out for Giroro, who was too far into a vivid daydream to really notice. He would've remembered Natsumi falling in love with him, he was sure of that.

Realizing that Natsumi was holding the baby out for him to hold, not just to look at, Giroro took her awkwardly out of Natsumi's arms. It was almost as big as he was! But it was lighter than it looked. He couldn't bear to think of Kioshii as 'she,' because it made her feel too real. He was either dreaming or it was the world's most elaborate prank. Either way he didn't want to get too attached.

"I'm going to go get Kululu," Natsumi said, and stood to leave, Giroro still holding Kioshii. He was about to tell her to take Kioshii with her, but Kululu came into the room.

"Someone say my name?" he asked, looking up at Natsumi.

"Kululu, I think something's wrong with Giroro! He can't remember anything! Not Kioshii, not us falling in love, not anything! I don't know what could've happened! Is there anything you can do, Kululu?" Natsumi asked, putting a hand on Giroro's shoulder. He blushed even deeper.

"I'll see what I can do, Natsumi. Kukuku…" Kululu replied, and gestured for Giroro to follow him. Natsumi took Kioshii from him and Giroro reluctantly followed Kululu down into his lab.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone! I've officially decided on Keroponians, now! I haven't gotten many reviews on the subject, but I've had friends tell me that, too, so I'm going to go with it. Okay, here we go!

"Well?" Natsumi asked, looking worried. Giroro was really confused, now. Apparently he was the last to learn he was a 'father.' He still didn't really believe it, but everyone else seemed to know about Kioshii! Even Keroro and Tamama seemed to take it as old news! Was he really just having a spout of severe amnesia? Part of him wished that was what it was.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to restore his memories. Kukuku… The memory loss is very specialized and concentrated, so if I tried I might end up causing more damage. You two might just have to start over again," Kululu told her, and she fought hard to hold back tears, glancing at Giroro, who was looking unnaturally helpless, trying to process what was happening.

"I'll give you two some alone time. Kukuku…" Kululu said, and disappeared downstairs. Natsumi set Kioshii down on a baby blanket on the floor, and ran to Giroro, flinging her arms around him and sobbing.

"I can't lose you, Giroro! I just can't…" she sobbed into his shoulder as she sat on her knees. Giroro stood there, stunned for a moment, before carefully wrapping his arms around her in return. She didn't seem to mind. Giroro's heart was doing flips inside of him, and he barely dared to believe it. It couldn't be a dream. He wasn't creative enough.

They stood there like that for several minutes before Fuyuki came downstairs, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Do I smell something burning?" he asked, not seeming to notice Giroro and Natsumi. The latter jumped suddenly to her feet.

"Breakfast!" she exclaimed, and ran to turn off the stove. Only once she was gone did Fuyuki turn to Giroro.

"What's up with _her_, Giroro? Something wrong?" he asked, fingering a small bump on his arm that he'd noticed that morning. It must've been a spider bite or something, he supposed, although it was really a needle mark. Kululu had realized at the last moment that if he wanted this to last more than a few minutes he'd need to have Fuyuki in on it, too. So the youngest Hinata had also been drugged.

"I, uh, apparently have some memory loss, or something. Can't remember something that everyone apparently expects me to remember," Giroro replied, sitting down on the couch and rubbing his head. All this confusion was giving him a headache.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense why she'd be upset. And you, of all people. She must be mortified," Fuyuki said, and a second later Natsumi walked back in, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve and taking a deep, shuddering breath.

"Sorry, guys. Looks like it's either toast or cereal this morning," she said, trying and failing to look cheerful. Giroro still could barely believe that Natsumi could ever have fallen for him, but he was starting to believe in this reality that Kululu had manufactured.

Kululu looked up at his screen, laughing at the look on Giroro's face. He couldn't wait to see how long he could keep Giroro believing it!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, all you readers out there! Me again! Anyway, if you like this one you should read my other fanfiction, which is called Girl Power. It's my other Sgt. Frog fanfiction, and it's gotten great reviews so far, so apparently I'm doing _something_ right.

Giroro, uncomfortable in the house with Natsumi's mood rubbing off on everyone, went back outside the second he finished eating. Usually, he'd sit outside his tent on a cinder block, but now he could only bear to be inside his tent, away from the confusion he was only barely starting to believe. Part of him wanted it to be true, but the other part was screaming that it was impossible.

With Giroro outside, Natsumi held Kioshii to try and keep her mind off of it. Fuyuki decided to go out into the world to pass his time, and Momoka appeared seconds later, as he'd come to almost expect whenever he left the house.

"Fuyuki! Did Natsumi give you a hard time yesterday about that picture? I don't know what she was so mad about, I mean, they were really cute!" Momoka said brightly, misinterpreting Fuyuki's mood.

"What picture?" Fuyuki asked her, looking confused. Kululu's drug had erased that part of his memory. Momoka took that to mean he didn't want to talk about it and changed the subject.

"So if that's not it, what's got you down? You look depressed or something," Momoka said, cutting in front of Fuyuki to stop him and force him to answer her question.

"It's Natsumi. She's all depressed because Giroro can't remember Kioshii, and it's rubbing off on everyone else, too. That's why I left," Fuyuki told her, and Momoka was looking more confused than ever.

"Who in the world is Kioshii?" Momoka exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Oh not you, too!" Fuyuki said, shaking his head. "It's Giroro's and Natsumi's kid! Remember, the one Kululu 'manufactured' out of their DNA? They fell in love because she brought them together, remember?"

"Wait, they had a **KID**? They fell in **LOVE**?" Momoka asked, her dark side emerging. She didn't like being confused.

"Come with me, Momoka. We need to ask Kululu if it's the same thing Giroro has," Fuyuki said, grabbing her hand. Momoka was going to argue, but promptly forgot the moment his hand touched hers.

And off they went to see what was 'wrong' with Momoka.


	7. Chapter 7

Hiyas, everyone! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys like it! I wish I had the time to write longer chapters, but… Anyway, let's continue!

Kululu was quickly told of Momoka's supposed predicament, and told them the same thing he'd told Natsumi. Fuyuki frowned, but he took it better than Natsumi had.

Momoka was already completely convinced that this was reality, and soon she was cooing at Kioshii and tickling her. Kululu looked on, still brimming with pride at his work. Unless you already knew, there was no way you'd be able to tell it was just an android.

And Fuyuki had even gone so far as to name its species. Keroponian, really? Well, it couldn't last much longer, anyway, Kululu supposed. All good things must come to an end eventually. And Aki was bound to notice when she got home from her three day business trip that night.

Giroro came out of his tent at that point, deciding not to brood anymore. He still wasn't used to the idea of parenthood or whatever it was that it counted as, but Kioshii was impossible not to adore. And he'd always loved Natsumi, so that wasn't anywhere near a sacrifice. And no one else seemed to think it was out of the ordinary, either.

He opened the door to find Momoka playing with Kioshii, something that automatically counted as danger in Giroro's eyes. Eager to stop it, he moved to intervene.

"Uh, Momoka? Could I hold her?" he asked, blushing. At least Natsumi wasn't there. He didn't know if he'd be able to stand that humiliation.

"Oh! Giroro! Fuyuki told me what happened! I'm so sorry! The same thing happened to me!" she said, handing the infant to Giroro. Giroro was taken aback.

"You lost your memory, too, Momoka?" he asked, subconsciously rocking Kioshii in his arms. Momoka nodded.

"Yeah. I forgot all about Kioshii, too. But enough about me, how's Natsumi doing?" Momoka asked.

"She's taking it pretty badly… Wait, you forgot Kioshii, too? And that's all? Doesn't that seem a little too coincidental?" Giroro asked, furrowing his brow. No! He wanted it to be real!

"Kululu didn't seem to think so," Momoka said, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm going to go home now." She waved and left, leaving Giroro to stew in his thoughts.

Deep in the base, Kululu was fuming. He couldn't be figuring it out already! Where was the fun in that?

Finally something in Giroro's head clicked. Kululu, of course! He was about to barge downstairs to confront Kululu about it, but then he realized that if he did so, Kioshii would most likely go away. He didn't want that. So he decided to turn the trick on Kululu, just this once.

He began thinking of how to do it, setting Kioshii down gently on her baby blanket, now sound asleep from the rocking motion.

He ran to find Natsumi.


	8. Chapter 8

Can you guess Giroro's plan? Bwahahaha! Well, you may or may not be right, but here's how it happened:

"Giroro! This is wonderful! You've gotten your memories back?" Natsumi exclaimed, beaming and wiping away tears of joy. Giroro nodded, blushing madly. He didn't like lying, especially to Natsumi, but he just _had_ to get back at Kululu for doing this to Natsumi. Because, honestly, Natsumi would never cry this many times in the same twenty-four hours.

"Yeah, it was just this sudden thing, and I got my memories back!" he said, not looking her in the eyes.

"So you remember everything?" she asked. Giroro nodded.

"I think so. It's still a little hazy, but I remember you and Kioshii and everything."

Deep in the base, Kululu's glasses shattered… again. He couldn't have gotten his memories 'back'! He'd never actually had them! What was going on? He knew he hadn't drugged Giroro! Had Keroro found his syringe? He'd have to ask, because if so, he was so dead.

It never occurred to him that Giroro could be messing with him. Because Giroro _obviously _wasn't smart enough. Especially when Natsumi was involved.

Kululu ran out of his lab to go interrogate Keroro, eager to get this resolved. It was no fun if Giroro didn't keep freaking out!

"Keroro!" Kululu exclaimed, bursting into the sergeant's room. "Did you drug Giroro? Because he's acting like he remembers!"

"What? That's no fun!" Tamama exclaimed, whining.

"It wasn't me! I don't know what could've happened!" Keroro said defensively.

Suddenly it clicked for Kululu. Obviously!

Kioshii must've developed her own consciousness! (because that's _way_ more likely than Giroro figuring it out…)


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, to explain: Kululu thinks that Kioshii, the robot baby, developed its own consciousness and decided it wanted both of its 'parents' to believe in its existence, and so it drugged Giroro on its own. I guess Kululu REALLY doesn't think much of Giroro, huh? Anyway, here we go:

"Really? Oh that's wonderful, Natsumi!" Momoka exclaimed. She'd stopped by to see Fuyuki again, realizing she'd left too suddenly to say good bye.

"I know, isn't it? Maybe you'll get your memories back, too!" Natsumi said, rocking Kioshii in her arms.

"Oh, I hope so! It's disorienting not remembering what you can't remember. Or… yeah, I guess," Momoka said, trying to figure out how to phrase her sentence. Natsumi nodded, understanding what she meant.

"I can imagine that must be hard," Natsumi replied, sighing. She felt sorry for Momoka. She couldn't remember Kioshii! It was awful.

Meanwhile, Giroro was roasting sweet potatoes outside, listening to their conversation. They'd left the back door open, probably hoping that he'd join them. Kioshii started wiggling in Natsumi's arms when she smelled the sweet potatoes. Natsumi put her down on her baby blanket and went back to talking with Momoka.

(To understand this next part, I'm assuming that Keronians grow out of their tadpole stage faster than humans. Therefore, they start crawling and talking and stuff earlier, too)

Unbeknownst to Natsumi and Momoka, Kioshii started crawling toward the smell, cooing slightly. Kululu had programmed her to love sweet potatoes, just like Natsumi and Giroro did.

Giroro looked up just in time to see Kioshii about to crawl over the slightly raised edge of the door. Jumping up, he lunged and barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief. Natsumi shrieked. Giroro didn't know why. He'd caught her, hadn't he?

"How did she get over there?" Natsumi asked, horrified. Giroro shrugged.

"Must've crawled," he replied gruffly. He still wasn't used to Natsumi treating him as an equal.

"But she's only three months old!" Natsumi exclaimed, panicking. Giroro nodded. Of course.

"It must be because Keronians start that level of maturing at about two months. She ended up somewhere in the middle," Giroro explained.

Natsumi sighed in relief. Giroro wasn't sure what she'd thought had happened, but he didn't bother asking. He wondered how Kululu was reacting to his sudden remembrance. He really wished he could see his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but you know… craziness… Anyway, Kululu's going to push a reset button on his plan (not literally) and wipe everyone's memories to start his trick over, this time, hopefully, without glitches. Here we go!

The aforementioned face was twisted into a concentrated grimace. He was working furiously at his computer, trying to detect a problem that didn't exist. Kululu grunted, sitting back in his chair tiredly. Androids were so complicated to control. A memory-manipulative syringe? No problem. Genetic engineering? No problem. A robot baby? _**Massive**_ problem.

Suddenly something in Kululu's head engineering? A memory-manipulative syringe? That was it! Why didn't he think of it before? (Although, as you'll soon see, he did think of it before, and probably beat himself up for days afterwards for not just starting it off with this. He quickly got to work, setting off upstairs within half an hour with a new batch of syringes, a gas mask, and his trusty universal remote/iPod thing.

A click of a button later, and everyone, invited to dinner by Natsumi, and even Aki for a change, passed out from inhaling sleeping gas, even before anyone who hadn't been drugged had a chance to ask why Giroro was cooing at a baby and trying to get her to stop crying- not exactly something he did on a normal day.

He went about giving everyone(including Giroro) a shot, pricking Natsumi and Giroro for blood samples, then taking Kioshii downstairs with him to do some- shall we say- tweaking.

After turning the squirming robot off, he carefully scanned her. After still finding no real problems with her internal wiring, he decided to go through with his plan. Pulling out the blood samples, he slid them into a big machine over in the corner. He went back upstairs while waiting for the machine to do its job, and used his universal remote to teleport everyone back to their respective homes. He should probably tell Keroro that he could do that, but where was the fun in that?

Then he waited for nightfall. The Hinatas had all gone to sleep, after the initial 'what happened and why can't I remember anything about the last few days?', and Giroro was in his tent. It was funny to think that he, Kululu, was the only one who could remember the android. The drug he'd given them didn't create memories for them, it erased the ones they already had from the first drug. His first attempt at a prank on Giroro had failed, but this time, for sure, he would succeed. And this time, it would be a trick on EVERYONE, not just Giroro. And, in a way, a birthday present for Giroro, as his birthday, which was coincidentally on Riku-gun Kinen'bi (I made this up; his birthday isn't specified in the series… look up "Riku-gun Kinen'bi on google WITH quotation marks; it's Army Commemoration Day), was the next day.

He waited another ten minutes for his machine to finish up, then got an egg-shaped baby carrier with his insignia on it. Gently placing the sleeping baby into her carrier, he got out some stationary and a pen and wrote, "Happy Birthday, Giroro. It's just for you and Natsumi!" in big, curly pink letters. He taped the note to the carrier and closed it, forming a complete egg with no visible seams, just the handle, and teleported himself and it outside. (There's no way he would've been able to carry it. It's almost as big as him!)

He shoved it so it sat right outside Giroro's tent, impossible to miss, confident that this time, at least for a few days, it would be interesting to watch. Eventually he'd come clean about everything, of course; where's the fun in anything if you don't get beat up at the end? Then he took the long way down to his lab, taking a small detour to Natsumi's room to place another note.

"Congratulations, you're a mom!"


	11. Chapter 11

Kululu went downstairs, then, and disassembled the failed android. He wouldn't need it again. The baby outside was one hundred percent genuinely a genetic mix of Giroro and Natsumi. This time, the story about where she came from would be true!

At dawn, both of the prospective parents woke with the sun, Giroro from habit, Natsumi by alarm clock. It was a school day for her, and she always woke up early to make breakfast before waking up Fuyuki, and occasionally Aki.

Natsumi was the first to notice what had been left for her, as it had been sitting on her alarm clock 'off' button and had been partially squished by her hand.

Her eyes narrowed as they read the note, and she flew down into the base and towards Kululu's lab, in order to adequately punish the stupid yellow frog for being weird. She would know if she was a mom! What kind of stupid note was that?

At around the same time, Giroro left his tent to see if he could scavenge something from the kitchen to eat. Normally he lived off military rations, but they hadn't gotten their budget check yet, so he hadn't been able to order provisions.

He found his path blocked by a big egg-thing with Kululu's symbol on it. His first instinct was to assume it was a bomb, and he flung himself to the ground, protecting his head with his hands. Then he noticed the handle, and adrenaline turned to annoyance and then to anger. Grabbing it, he dragged it carefully down into the base, taking care not to handle it too roughly. It could be dangerous, and if so he didn't want it jostled around too much.

When he finally reached his destination with the egg thing in tow, Natsumi was in the process of beating Kululu to a pulp.

"The note doesn't even make sense! Why won't you tell me what it meant? Tell me or else!" she was yelling. She noticed Giroro and his luggage.

"These had BETTER not be related!" Natsumi screamed. Giroro sighed.

"What'd he do this time?" he exclaimed in annoyance.

"He left this stupid note for me in the middle of the night and he won't tell me what it's supposed to mean!" she said, although she didn't show Giroro what it said.

"Kululu, what is this thing, anyway? It looks like a giant egg!" Giroro said, poking it carefully.

"It's merely a container. Kukuku!" he said, and laughed for almost a minute and a half before speaking again.

"If you want to know what it is, push the swirl. It'll only lock or unlock for you two," Kululu said.

"Why am I included in this?" Natsumi asked exasperatedly. Giroro showed her his note, and she frowned.

"I didn't know it was your birthday," she muttered. She liked to plan parties in advanced. She'd have to scrape something together… She shook her head. Back the bigger problem.

"Well, I guess we have to open it and take care of it, whatever he's come up for us to deal with," Natsumi said. Kululu laughed. She didn't know how appropriate her words were!

Giroro nodded, and opened the container.

Kululu laughed even harder.

Natsumi and Giroro froze.


	12. Chapter 12

Let's see how they react this time around!

After a moment's silence, Kioshii started crying, as most babies do when they're woken up before they're ready.

"Shhh," Natsumi said, and she started rocking the carrier. Then she threw daggers at Kululu with her eyes.

"Who's baby have you kidnapped?" she exclaimed. Giroro brought up a gun at Kululu.

"And why did you think I'd want it as a birthday present?" Giroro demanded.

"Ask Natsumi to show you her note. Kukuku…" was the reply. Natsumi paled, then inspected the baby more closely.

"Pink hair…" she mumbled, and shocked, she dropped the note. Giroro picked it up and started blushing.

"What do you mean, she's a mom? I think she would've noticed if she'd given birth!" Giroro said. Kululu shook his head, then turned to Natsumi.

"Remember the picture Fuyuki drew? You should've burned it. Kukuku…" Kululu told her, and she grimaced. The baby was the spitting image of one of Fuyuki's drawings. Small white birthmark that looked like a scar over one eye, pink hair, flushed cheeks. She paled. The one it looked like most was…

Giroro looked over at her, confused.

"What picture?" Giroro asked, and Kululu brought up a photo of it on an overhead screen. Giroro flushed.

"FUYUKI! That's…" Giroro said, but stopped his rant when he noticed that the baby in the carrier looked like the picture in the middle, and underneath it was labeled, 'N+G', clearly identifying that it was what would likely happen if Natsumi and Giroro…

"WHAT?" Giroro shouted, glowing bright red and looking startled at the baby. He DEFINITELY would've known if THAT had happened.

"Well, Kukuku, the last few days you've been unconscious? That was me. I was running tests on you. I combined your DNA. This is Kioshii Itazura Hinata. Hope you don't mind that I named her for you. It seemed an appropriate name. Kukuku… Genetic engineering is so fun," he said. Natsumi punched him in the face, hard, making his glasses shatter.

"Well what are we supposed to DO with her?" Natsumi asked, her fist still balled up, prepared to deal another blow.

"Raise her, of course. Kukuku… and do try to be loving parents. You wouldn't want her to grow up feeling neglected, would you?" Kululu asked, and laughed again.

"But… but…" Natsumi stuttered angrily.

"I don't like it either(massive lie), Natsumi, but he's right. There's nowhere else we can put her, and genetically, she's us. Although why he chose me and not one of the others is a mystery to me(also massive lie)," Giroro said, laying a hand on her arm. She tried to relax. Finally, she turned to Kululu and said, "You are in SO much trouble when mom finds out." Kululu laughed joyfully, then clicked a button and teleported them back upstairs into the living room.

"I WASN'T DONE WITH YOU YET!" Natsumi yelled, and seconds later Fuyuki and Aki had woken up and run downstairs to see what the matter was.

Giroro had closed the baby carrier again to try and get Kioshii to go back to sleep, though he didn't know much about childcare and wouldn't have had any way of knowing that Kioshii was hungry. At the very least, the carrier was soundproof, so it blocked out the sound of her crying.

When the Hinatas got downstairs, they saw a big egg thing with Kululu's symbol standing between Natsumi and Giroro, and Fuyuki came over to poke it interestedly. Aki eyed it suspiciously.

"What is that? It had better not be an animal cage or something! I've told you a million times, don't bring animals into the…" she said, but Natsumi cut her off, still steaming.

"It's not an animal. At least, not by your definition," she said. Fuyuki's finger hit the swirl, and Natsumi flinched, but nothing happened.

"Only for us, remember?" Giroro asked. He'd locked it, not just closed it. Natsumi nodded.

"What's only for you?" Aki asked, kneeling down to examine the carrier.

"The lock will only engage or disengage if Giroro or I touch it," Natsumi explained. Aki raised an eyebrow.

"Why? What's it got to do with you two? And what do you mean, not an animal by my definition?" Aki asked. Giroro looked to Natsumi for permission, and he put his hand to the lock, disengaging it and opening the carrier. Aki froze, but Fuyuki tried to hold back a smile.

"Kululu found the picture, didn't he?" he asked. Natsumi nodded, angry and embarrassed.

"What picture?" Aki asked. "And where'd the baby come from?"

Natsumi grimaced. She didn't want to explain to her mother that she was a grandmother already- at least by a loose definition. But, it turned out that she didn't have to, because at that moment Kululu came upstairs.

"Oh, Kioshii? Kukuku… She's a genetic cross between Giroro and Natsumi. Just a little side project I thought I'd try. You're a grandma!" he said, and laughed again. Aki's eyes widened, her fleeting in between Natsumi, Giroro, and Kioshii, noting all the similarities in their features, her face going paler every second.

"You're only a teenager! You can't be a mom!" she finally exclaimed, glaring at Natsumi.  
>"I know that! It's not my fault! It was all Kululu!" Natsumi exclaimed, blushing and turning her head away. Fuyuki was letting Kioshii grip his finger in her tiny little hand. He grinned.<p>

"Hi, Kioshii," he said in a baby voice, using his other hand to tickle her, though she was still too young to laugh or smile. She was, after all, a newborn.

"What time is it, anyway? You didn't wake me up at the usual time," Fuyuki asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Um, I think we're late!" Natsumi said, glancing at the clock. They ran off to change, and zoomed off to school without another word about Kioshii or the situation.  
>"Hey, wait! I don't know how to…" Giroro started, but they were long gone. Sighing, he turned back to Kioshii. Aki had started playing with her, taking her out of the carrier and bouncing a little, cooing at her. At the very least, it seemed to keep her entertained.<p>

"Um, just for the record, I didn't have anything to do with this, except, I guess, genetics," Giroro said, flinching when she looked over at him. He didn't want to feel the wrath of mom.

"I know that. Kululu's not the type to work in a group. But I guess there's a new child in this house, and as the genetic father, you are responsible for her at least most of the time, alright?" she asked. He nodded stiffly, then bit his lip.

"One problem. I have absolutely no idea how to do this. My training is strictly battle-oriented," Giroro said, grimacing from the pain of admitting he couldn't do something. Aki smiled.

"I've got today off work. Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes. And Natsumi will be able to help, too. It'll mostly be you two looking after her, but I'll help when I'm home, alright?" she said, squatting down so she was closer to his eyelevel and smiling at him. He nodded.

They spent the day while Natsumi was at school trying to keep Kioshii entertained, and Aki gave Giroro pointers, which he took to heart. There wasn't a platoon meeting that day, so none of the other platoon members showed up. Keroro was too busy watching Captain Geroro reruns to bother coming upstairs.

By the end of the day Giroro at least had SOME idea of how to cope with Kioshii. Which was good, because, he realized, he would be raising her mostly on his own. Aki was gone often, and Natsumi had school. He sighed. Natsumi would be home any minute now. Finally a chance for a break.


	13. Chapter 13

In response to recent comments: I agree. Giroro is going to be a GREAT dad. Once he gets used to Kioshii, I'll have him start carrying her around everywhere in a baby sling. Including platoon meetings. (The platoon will, of course, make endless fun of him for it)

Natsumi was fidgety all through classes that day. Although she had mixed feelings about suddenly being thrust into- for lack of a better word- motherhood, she had to admit that her maternal instinct was kicking in. She worried about Kioshii all day, partially worried about leaving her with Giroro. He was battle-hardened and surly. She wasn't sure she wanted that kind of role model for Kioshii, even though he was- for lack of a better word- her father. Genetically speaking, at least.

Her friends noticed. Koyuki walked up to her before gym class wanting to know what was up.

"What's wrong, Natsumi? You seem distracted today! I don't think I've ever seen your mind wander in class before!" Koyuki said, leaning in a way that was too close for comfort.

"It's nothing. Just… Kululu being Kululu, creating problems. And this time, the effect of his experimentation is going to stick around for a long time, and I'm not sure how I feel about it," Natsumi replied, sighing. Koyuki frowned.

"Do you want to talk about it? Is it something you want me to… take care of?" Koyuki asked, nudging a ninja star out of her pocket. Natsumi grabbed her hand in a panic.

"Not that kind of problem!" she exclaimed, her heart pounding. Koyuki shrugged and put her weapon away.

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?" Koyuki asked.

"Actually, if you wanted to come over tonight to help out, that might be good. We can make a night of it, if you want. What do you say, up for a sleepover?" Natsumi asked, determined that Kioshii wouldn't kill her social life. Koyuki was, as always, ecstatic that Natsumi had invited her over, so the plan was finalized.

After school was over, Koyuki flitted off home to get her things, and Natsumi ran home, wanting to get back as soon as possible. Koyuki caught up with her a few blocks away from the house, having already gotten her things, and Natsumi slowed to a walk.

Natsumi opened the door, letting Koyuki inside, and the two of them took off their shoes and went inside.

"Koyuki, why don't you go put your stuff in my room?" Natsumi suggested, and Koyuki nodded, walking up the stairs. Natsumi went into the living room looking for Giroro and Kioshii. They were sitting on one of the couches, Kioshii nestled in Giroro's lap. Aki was across from them on the other couch, smiling and watching them. Noticing Natsumi, she put a finger to her lips. Natsumi noticed that Giroro and Kioshii's eyes were closed, and their breathing was deep and even.

"They're sleeping?" Natsumi mouthed. Aki nodded, smiling. She stood up and walked with Natsumi out into the hall.

"Hello, Mrs. Hinata!" Koyuki said from the stairs. She leapt over the banister and landed on her feet.

"Koyuki! What a surprise! Are you staying over?" Aki asked. Koyuki nodded enthusiastically.

"So, how is she?" Natsumi asked, gesturing to the living room door.

"She's fine. Giroro took good care of her. He's barely put her down all day. I helped out a bit, but I think he'll be fine from now on. There's nothing else he really needs to know. You might want to go out shopping and get stuff for her, though," Aki said. Koyuki stared at them like they were speaking another language. At that moment, Kioshii woke up and started crying, waking Giroro up. He jolted a little, blinked, shook his head, then grabbed Kioshii's bottle, which she decidedly refused. After checking to see if she needed changing and deciding that wasn't the problem, he started panicking a little.

"Aki! I can't tell what she wants!" Giroro said, standing up and carrying her out into the hall. Koyuki gasped when he appeared, and immediately began sniffing Kioshii. Giroro frowned, and Kioshii started crying even harder.

"Koyuki, this is Kioshii. I'll explain later," Natsumi said. Koyuki shook her head.

"No need. She's you and Giroro's, right? I could tell by the smell. Is that what Kululu was up to?" she asked. Natsumi nodded.

"Natsumi, do you want to hold her?" Aki asked. Natsumi was flustered, and shrugged. Aki took the squirming infant out of Giroro's arms and put her into Natsumi's.

The baby promptly stopped crying.

"She just wanted her mommy!" Koyuki exclaimed happily. Despite herself, Natsumi smiled down at the baby, who was cooing at her and drooling a little bit. Giroro looked on, smiling slightly. It felt strange not to be holding the baby anymore, though. His arms, at least, were glad of the break. They felt about as limp as soba noodles!

Natsumi held her for most of the rest of the evening, although she did leave her behind to run to the store, once, in order to get supplies. She got the basics, like clothes, diapers, wipes, and formula, and then also got toys, baby videos, a sling, a stroller, two sets of baby monitors, walkie talkies, blankets and a folding crib. She had a bit of trouble getting it all home, but it was necessary.

Eventually, Kioshii fell asleep, and Natsumi was the one who got her ready for bed, changing her again, putting her into pajamas, and wrapping her in blankets.

"Where should I set up the crib?" Natsumi asked.

"What about the family room? (the room where Natsumi's birthday party was held)" Aki suggested. Natsumi nodded. Giroro set up the crib, as Natsumi was holding Kioshii, and Natsumi set the infant down. Amazingly, Kioshii had stayed asleep through all of this. Natsumi ran back out to the living room and got the baby monitors. She put them next to the crib, then handed Giroro one of the receivers. The other she kept with her. She also gave him a walkie talkie.

"So we can argue about who has to deal with it when she wakes up in the middle of the night," she explained. Giroro looked confused.

"Why would she wake up in the middle of the night?" Giroro asked. The Pekoponians all stared at him.

"What?" he asked, uncomfortable under their stares.

"Don't Keronian kids wake up in the middle of the night?" Natsumi asked, perplexed. He shook his head. The girls all laughed.

"Well, I'm going to hope she takes on that characteristic, then!" Natsumi exclaimed.

"Don't jinx it, Natsumi!" Aki scolded. Natsumi grinned.

After that, everyone parted ways for the night, and, thankfully, Kioshii only woke up once, which made it seem like she took after the Keronian side. Human infants wake up several times, right? Giroro dealt with it, and the rest of the night passed rather uneventfully.


	14. Chapter 14

Mwahahaha… Thank you, RunwithscissorsXXXbattlescars, for your ideas which we discussed via private messaging. It'll probably happen not this chapter, but in the next one or two that it's addressed.

Aki had to work that day, so Giroro was left on his own with Kioshii for the first time. After freaking out for a while, he got into the swing of it and was soon carrying Kioshii around in the sling wherever he went(I warned you this would happen).

He put her in her carrier once, and set her in front of one of the baby videos Natsumi had bought, but she fell asleep relatively quickly. Reluctant to take her out to put her in her crib, he turned off the video and carried her in the carrier out to his tent, where he began cleaning his weapons vigorously.

After a few minutes, Mrs. Furbottom slinked into the tent. She poked curiously at Kioshii, and Giroro hurriedly pulled her back.

"Don't wake her up!" he said in a hushed whisper. Mrs. Furbottom meowed questioningly.

"This is Kioshii Itazura Hinata. She's my daughter," Giroro told her.

Mrs. Furbottom pawed his belt, opening up the compartment with Natsumi's picture.

"Meow?" she asked. Giroro nodded. Mrs. Furbottom purred at him, and he smiled. As she slinked out of the tent, his phone rang. It wasn't something he used often, and it usually was buried in his tent. Usually, it was just Keroro calling to tell him that there was a platoon meeting. This time it was no different.

"Giroro! We're having a meeting! Come join us!" Keroro said, and promptly hung up. Sighing, Giroro stood up. He put the sling back on and carefully placed Kioshii into it. He grabbed some diapers, wipes, a binky, and a bottle of formula in case she woke up, then put it into a diaper bag and headed down to the meeting room. (Conveniently forgetting that the only other platoon member who knows is Kululu. Mwahaha…)

Thrusting open the door to the meeting room, with its vast number of unnecessary chairs, Giroro walked into the meeting.

Kioshii had woken up on the trip downstairs, but the binky had her occupied for now.

"This had better be important," he said, hopping into his regular seat.

Kululu was laughing obnoxiously in his seat, and everyone else was staring at him. (including Dororo, who'd decided to come to the meeting even though he knew they wouldn't notice he was there)

"What?" Giroro asked, flushing.

"I think you've got a parasite sticking to you, Corporal," Tamama said, shocing a potato chip into his mouth. Giroro's eyes narrowed.

"WHAT did you just call her?" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. Tamama flinched.

"What'd I do?" he asked. Keroro cleared his throat.

"Um, what IS that thing, Corporal?" he asked. Giroro froze.

"Oh yeah. I forgot you guys didn't know. Wow, this is awkward. I blame Kululu," Giroro said with a sigh.

"Don't go pushing this on him! What is that, where did it come from, and why did you decide to bring it to a meeting?" Keroro asked angrily. Kioshii spit out her pacifier and started crying. Shushing her hurriedly, Giroro pulled out her bottle and offered that to her to calm her down.

"Woah! It made noise! I want one!" Tamama said.

"She's not a toy!" Giroro said, annoyed. "Like I said, I blame Kululu."

"He's right. It's my fault. Kukuku…" Kululu said. "She's Giroro's daughter, genetically. It was my birthday present to him!"

"Wait. Corporal, you had a birthday? Why was I not notified?" Keroro asked.

"I don't like birthdays. It's just stupid numbers," Giroro said heatedly.

"I had to stalk him on Twitter for years to find out what day it was on. Kukuku…" Kululu said.

"So, wait, if that's his daughter, then who's the mom. And why isn't she taking care of it?" Tamama asked. Giroro flushed.

"Genetically, the mother is Natsumi. So, she's at school right now. Kukuku…" Kululu told them, before Giroro could protest. Keroro and Tamama began rolling around on the floor, laughing.

"I bet he loved that!" Keroro said gleefully.

"That's just... too much!" Tamama replied jubilantly.

"Stop it, you guys!" Giroro said angrily.

"Congratulations, Giroro! Parenthood can be a real blessing!" Dororo said.

"Oh, Dororo! When did you get here?" Keroro asked.

"I've been here the whole time…" Dororo replied, his voice quivering. He was soon off in a corner, traumatizing.

"Well, this meeting is obviously going nowhere fast. I'm taking her back upstairs and seeing if I can get her to fall back asleep," Giroro said, and marched out of the meeting room, leaving the laughing frogs behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

This is one of the few chapters I researched for, so I hope you like it!

Kioshii was asleep when Natsumi got home, and Aki had been told to take a sick day or two, after telling her boss that she was having a 'family crisis'.

Natsumi took over watching Kioshii for awhile, and Giroro cleaned weapons for a while before going inside to keep an eye on Kioshii. Aki was sitting on the couch, but eventually stood up and announced that she would be making dinner for once. As she walked toward the kitchen, however, she tripped over a photo album. Soon, she was multi-tasking; looking at pictures and cooking. She flipped some pages and came across one of Haru Hinata, her husband. (yes, that is his name.)

"Maybe I should call Haru. You'd think he'd want to know he's a grandpa…" she speculated aloud.

"Who?" Giroro asked. (I'm assuming that they haven't met)

"Dad? He doesn't even know about the frogs, does he! So how are you supposed to explain this?" Natsumi asked.

"Wait. Your father is still alive?" Giroro asked.

"Of course! He's been traveling for a few years, researching the occult for a paper he's going to write!" Natsumi said. (I made that up. He has been traveling, it's just never explained why.)

"Why wasn't I informed?" Giroro asked.

"You didn't ask," Natsumi reminded him.

"Stop it, you two! Anyway, I think I might call him and tell him to come home. There are some things we should probably explain to him… Besides, you kids see even less of your dad than you do of your mom, and that's saying something!" Aki said. She picked up a phone. "Natsumi, finish dinner!" she called over her shoulder. Sighing, she handed Kioshii to Giroro and walked into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Aki came back into the room.

"He said he could be here tomorrow. He's in China right now, so the flight will only take a few hours, but he can't get a flight until early tomorrow morning. He'll be here around seven or eight. And you don't have school, so you'll be home," Aki said.

"Great! I miss dad! It'll be good to see him!" Natsumi exclaimed. At the dinner table, the news was passed on to Fuyuki and Keroro, and the frogs were warned not to come out until they were told.

Kioshii was silent that night, and everyone in the house slept better for it.


	16. Chapter 16

I kinda had to make up some things about the dad's character(actually, all of it), so bear with me.

When Natsumi woke up the next morning, it was around seven thirty, but her dad wasn't here yet, so she went about making his favorite breakfast, tamagoyaki. If he was going to be here for once, she wanted him to feel at home.

Not long after she started making breakfast, Aki woke up and took over to apologize for making Natsumi do dinner. This was lucky, because Kioshii woke up moments later and began screaming. Natsumi rushed in to quiet her down, but Giroro was already there, offering Kioshii her bottle and cooing at her.

"Oh! Giroro, you didn't have to wake up! I was already up. I could have done it," Natsumi said. Giroro shrugged awkwardly.

"I don't mind," he said, looking back at Kioshii. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Natsumi panicked.

"That'll be dad! Stay here and keep her quiet, okay? Don't come out!" Natsumi said, and rushed out to open the door. Aki came up behind her, and Natsumi opened the door.

"Natsumi! You've grown! I've missed you!" Haru Hinata said, and rushed forward to crush the daughter he hadn't seen in years in a bear hug.

"It's good to have you home, Haru," Aki said, and he relinquished Natsumi just long enough to give Aki the same treatment and a kiss.

"Where's Fuyuki? Let me guess, still asleep, right?" he asked, shaking his head. "He's too much like me!"

"I'll go wake him up!" Natsumi said happily. Same old dad! She didn't know why, but she'd been afraid that he'd change while he was traveling.

Once Fuyuki was properly awake and dressed, he ran downstairs.

"Fuyuki! You're getting tall!" Haru exclaimed, catching Fuyuki as he tripped over the bottom stair in his rush. "Still as coordinated as always, I see," he teased. Fuyuki smiled sheepishly.

"So what is so important that I needed to come home two weeks early?" he asked. They stared at him.

"You were going to come home in two weeks?" Aki asked. Haru frowned.

"I forgot to call, didn't I. Sorry. Same old me, I guess!" he said. "Yeah, the paper's almost finished. But I have all the notes I need, so I'll be able to finish the paper here, where I belong. Although it's more of a book, at this point. I was thinking of getting it published!"

"That's great, dad!" Fuyuki exclaimed. He would be the one to be excited. While Natsumi looked like her dad and acted like her mom, Fuyuki looked like his mom, and acted like his dad.

"So what happened?" Haru said.

"Where to start!" all three of them exclaimed together, and they started laughing. Haru, sensing the news wasn't bad, relaxed a little. They ushered him into the living room and they all sat down.

"Do you want the basic idea, or details?" Aki asked.

"Why not give me the basic idea and add in details gradually? My brain will be able to process more that way," he said jokingly.

"Well, the simple idea is we have some new roommates, in a way," Natsumi said.

"It can't be that simple, or you wouldn't have had me come back. You would've just told me over the phone," Haru said suspiciously.

"Well, they're a bit strange. And, not human," Fuyuki said bluntly. Haru stared at him.

"You don't expect me to believe Mom let you get pets?" Haru asked, looking into each of their faces in turn. Aki smiled.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, dear. Maybe we'd better introduce them. Natsumi, you get Giroro. Tell him to leave that other one in there for now. Don't want to overload his mind. Fuyuki, go get the others, all right?" Aki commanded sweetly. The kids rushed to do their job.

"Others? How many are there?" Haru asked. A sinking feeling started when Aki had to stop and count on her fingers.

"Um… six or seven, I think. But one of them will have to wait until later. She's a special case," Aki replied.

"Six or seven! How do you fit them all in the house? We don't have any spare bedrooms!" Haru exclaimed.

"Well, only four of them live here. (Giroro, Keroro, Mois, Kioshii) The rest just spend most of their time here! (Tamama, Kululu, Dororo) And we've had some… uh… remodeling done in the basement. (the base)"

"Still!" Haru exclaimed, skaking his head. He was getting confused.

"Also, they don't take up much room. They're pretty small. Well, all but one of them, anyway. (Mois)" Aki said.

"You didn't adopt, did you?" Haru asked, trying to imagine it. It wasn't working for him. Aki laughed.

"Not in the way that you mean, no. Oh, here they come! This may come as some of a shock…" Aki said apologetically. All six aliens (Kioshii doesn't count. She's half-alien. Also, she was left in the room with a binky to be brought up slowly at a different time) walked slowly into the room, followed by Natsumi and Fuyuki.

"Kukuku…" Kululu said, turning Haru's head in the direction of the aliens. He whitened. "So this is Mr. Hinata. Interesting."

"What is that?" Haru asked, eyes wide. Tamama bounded up to him.

"So you're Fuyuki's papa? You don't look much like him!" he said. Haru shrunk back a little.

"What are they and how can they talk?" Haru asked, his voice fighting to maintain steady.

"We are the Advance Recon Mission Prepatory Invasion Terror Platoon of Keron, the 58th planet of the Gamma Planetary System! And to answer your second question, satellite TV!" Keroro announced.

"That's just uncle's super-duper way of saying that we're aliens!" Mois said. (she was already in alien form)

"Aliens?" Haru whispered weakly. Aki put a hand on his arm reassuringly.

"We come in peace!" Dororo said, smiling at Mr. Hinata under the mask.

"Ha. Speak for yourself, hippy," Giroro said, shaking his head. Natsumi sighed.

"It'll take some getting used to, dad. Trust me," Natsumi said.

For the next hour or two the presence of the frogs was explained to the bewildered father, interrupted only by Natsumi and Giroro sneaking away to check that Kioshii stayed asleep or occupied until it was time to introduce her. By the end of the conversation, Haru had much the same reaction as Fuyuki had.

"So my theories are all correct! Aliens DO walk among us!" Haru said triumphantly. This was old news to everyone present, but they didn't bother dampening his spirits. Kululu started to, but Natsumi punched him in the back of the head to shut him up.

"Unforgiveable!" said Omiyo (google it), rising from the floor. "Weren't you going to introduce me, too?"

"A ghost! Our house really was haunted?" Haru asked. Now that he'd been surprised, the paranormal stuff stopped bothering him."No wonder we got it so cheap! This paranormal stuff has been swarming around you guys, hasn't it?" Everyone nodded.

"And Natsumi, where do you and the little pink alien keep sneaking off to?" Haru asked. He had Fuyuki's powers of observation and detection.

"I am not pink!" Giroro exclaimed as the other frogs laughed at him.

"Um, nowhere?" Natsumi said, smiling innocently.

"There's one more thing you'll need to know, which is where she's going, but you might want to get used to this first," Aki suggested.

"After all that, I think I can take anything!" Haru exclaimed.

"Well, if you say so… Natsumi, go ahead and get her," Aki said, still unsure.

"Oh, I'm going to meet the seventh one, now? The 'special case'?" he asked. Aki nodded. Natsumi and Giroro went to get Kioshii. Natsumi carried her with the sling and put her binky in her mouth. She was no longer asleep, but still out of it. Taking a deep breath, Natsumi whispered down to her.

"Ready to meet grandpa?"


	17. Chapter 17

I will be taking a few comments into half-consideration on this one, so let's see how it goes! (like I've said before, just you)

Giroro led the way back to the living room, and thankfully Kioshii stayed quiet in Natsumi's arms. When Giroro emerged into the room, ahead of Natsumi, she could hear a sudden drop in conversation. Taking another calming breath, Natsumi stepped into the room. Haru couldn't see what was in Natsumi's arms at first, because Kioshii was covered by the cloth, but Natsumi lifted her out of the sling and handed her to him before he could react.

"I thought you said you didn't adopt," Haru said slowly. Natsumi grimaced and shook her head.

"Um, Haru, this is Kioshii Itazura Hinata. And she's not mine, exactly, adopted or otherwise," Aki told him cautiously, and for safe measure took Kioshii from him. Then she whispered something in his ear. Whether in embarrassment or rage no one could tell, but he flushed and leapt to his feet.

"GRANPA?" he yelled. Before anyone could react, he grabbed Natsumi's ear and started dragging her out into the hall. Thirty seconds or so later, Natsumi came in looking even redder than her dad and Giroro combined.

"It is SO not even REMOTELY like that dad. How could you think… eugh," Natsumi shuddered. Aki looked at him.

"You didn't," she said. He shrugged.

"It was an easy assumption to make!" he defended himself, still red. "So, how did it happen, exactly?"

"Kukuku… That would be me," Kululu said. "I'm the all-around nerd, and I'm also sadistic and a jerk and I like pulling pranks that are mean. Giroro here is one of my favorite subjects," he went on, patting Giroro on the head. Giroro shoved him off.

"It was his birthday yesterday, so I thought to myself, what kind of present could I get him that would be funny to watch him deal with? Kukuku… he's not exactly the parental type, so I thought it would be funny to get him a kid. But kids are really expensive on the black market, so I decided to genetically engineer him one. Kukuku… Natsumi just happened to be there when I knocked everyone out, so I took her and Giroro's blood samples and viola. Kioshii was made! Kukuku…" Kululu said.

"What do you want to bet that half of that is a lie?" Giroro muttered. Kululu leaned on him.

"Do you really have such little faith in me? Kukuku…" Kululu asked. Giroro stepped away and let him fall over on the floor with a loud, satisfying thud.

"Ow," Kululu said, one of his glasses lenses cracked.

"How do you know about the black market prices on children? I don't even want to know," Natsumi said, shaking her head. She took Kioshii back from Aki and put her back in the sling. She was starting to fidget now, starting to wake up completely, and Natsumi knew she'd probably need to be changed and fed soon. Knowing that Natsumi would probably want to spend as little time away from her father for the first little while he was home, Giroro walked over.

"I got her, Natsumi," he said, holding out his arms and looking slightly embarrassed. Natsumi looked down, surprised. One, she hadn't seen him coming, and two, he didn't seem the 'I'll take the baby' type. She gave Kioshii to Giroro anyway, and he walked off with her.

"So… these ones," he said, gesturing to the frogs, trying to get everything straight. "Are trying to conquer the planet." Natsumi nodded.

"But don't worry. They've been here for like, three years, and it hasn't happened yet. Once you get to know them, you won't be so worried," Natsumi told him.

"And that one," he continued, looking at Angol Mois. "Is just trying to destroy it."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Although same story. It's been three years, still nothing. Well, there have been some incidences when she's come close, but…" Fuyuki said.

"And that one," he asked, pointing to Keroro. Then he pointed to Angol Mois. "Is that one's uncle?"

"No, that's just her weird nickname for him. They played together as kids, so apparently they're close," Natsumi said, shrugging.

"Is there anything else about them I should know?" Haru asked, although he didn't look like he could process any more information at the moment.

"Well," Natsumi said, stopping to think. "Dororo," he waved. "Is on our side, most of the time. He was rescued by a Pekoponian and changed sides, sort of."

"A Peko-whatzit?" Haru said blankly.

"Oh! It's their name for humans. It kinda rubs off on you," Natsumi explained, shrugging.

"So… Other people know?" he asked. Natsumi nodded.

"Yeah. Actually, we should invite everyone over so you can meet them. Oh wait! There are actually a few other aliens who pop up from time to time. Kogoro and Lavie. But let's worry about that when we get there. Hopefully, we won't," Fuyuki said. Natsumi nodded.

"Why? Are they the bad kind of aliens?" their dad asked. They shook their heads.

"No, just annoying," Natsumi said.

"Right," Haru said slowly. "I'm going to go lie down."

No one stopped him, although they all looked reluctant for him to leave, or at least the humans did. The frogs were relatively indifferent, although Kululu seemed to have an unusual gleam to his glasses lens.

"You know, I find it kind of ironic that the Keronian who was most dedicated to conquering Pekopon ends up with a half-Pekoponian kid," Fuyuki said, breaking the silence that followed his dad's departure. Natsumi stifled a giggle as Keroro freaked out.

"What if he turns on us, too?" Keroro exclaimed. But at that moment Giroro walked back in, after having convincing Kioshii back to sleep, if only for a little while, and all conversation stopped. He eyed them all suspiciously, then walked through to go out to his tent and roast sweet potatoes.

Some things never change, huh?


	18. Chapter 18

I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I went through major writing block, then had a crazy and disorienting summer. (moving cross-country will do that to you…)

I do hope you'll someday forgive me, but I'll try harder to keep up with the writing from now on!

Well, let's see if I've still got it!

Despite his rather life-changing first day back home and the shocking realization that he was a grandfather at LEAST ten years earlier than he was comfortable with, Haru Hinata eventually acclimated himself to four of the five frogs. As a father, he mistrusted Giroro on principle, and sent out very clear _touch her and I kill you_ vibes, despite the fact that he was the father of his only grandchild, and, though it pained both of them to admit it, Giroro was a really good dad.

This fact was especially obvious when Giroro did things like fly a very long distance (and fight some very dangerous foes) to get a very unique (and alien in origin) binky for her. The binky played a very soft Keronian lullaby whenever it was put in Kioshii's mouth, and with its arrival when Kioshii was about a month old, the infant, to everyone's amazement, or at least the humans', she started sleeping through the night.

"Finally!" Keroro whined. "I could hear her yapping from all the way down in my room!"

"You stupid frog, did you just say 'finally'?! Do you realize how insane it is!? Babies never sleep through the night! Fuyuki didn't sleep through the night until he was almost two!? Kioshii is a freaking miracle!" Natsumi sighed.

"Well, yeah," Giroro muttered, walking into the room after putting Kioshii to bed, her binky in her mouth. Thankfully, no one heard him.

"You Pekoponians are useless! You can't even sleep right! It would be much better for you if you would just submit to our rule and let us root out the helpless weaklings that are holding your race back," Keroro said, shaking his head at Natsumi's foolishness. Unfortunately for him, Natsumi had become kind of paranoid where Kioshii was involved, and took his comment as an indirect threat, since babies definitely count as weak and helpless.

After several minutes, a severe beating, and Keroro limping downstairs to escape Natsumi's wrath, Natsumi collapsed back to her seat on the couch. _I'm so sorry, mom, for ever thinking that easier than anything else, _Natsumi thought with a sigh. _At least I haven't had to do it alone like mom did for so long…_ She glanced at Giroro, who was tracing patterns on his belt absentmindedly. Natsumi had always been curious about the belt.

_He's weak without it, so maybe it's some weird alien technology that enhances strength? _No, Giroro would want to earn his strength, not have it handed to him. _Maybe he's just so used to wearing it that when he takes it off it feels like something's missing? _No, that didn't make sense. Giroro wouldn't have such a stupid weakness as a wardrobe change._ Maybe it has sentimental value? _She vaguely remembered that it was a family heirloom. _That must be it. He's keeping his family close to his heart, and when he loses that support, he's weak. _It still sounded kind of strange, but it made more sense to her than any of the other ideas, and she didn't want to ask. She wasn't one to pry into people's business.

"Hey sis, have you seen…" Fuyuki called , walking into the room.

"Quiet! Kioshii's sleeping!" Natsumi hushed him.

"Sorry," Fuyuki winced. "I was wondering if you knew where dad was. I know Mom's at work, but I haven't seen Dad today."

"He must've gone out or something, how should I know? What do you need him for, anyway?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't know, just wondering. Do I need a reason?" Fuyuki asked, a little too quickly. Natsumi raised an eyebrow. Fuyuki sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. You're too closely involved."

"Ookaay…" Natsumi said, very confused. "Well, good luck with… whatever's bothering you, I guess. We should be heading to bed soon. We've got school tomorrow."

"Yeah…" Fuyuki sighed, and trudged upstairs. Giroro had disappeared outside, so Natsumi was left alone in the living room. She stood up with a groan. Although she'd already eaten dinner, she was still hungry, so she went into the kitchen and looked through the fridge. _Nothing good…_ She thought sadly. Then she smelled the sweet potatoes. Normally, she let Giroro do his own thing unless it related directly to Kioshii, but the smell wafting in from his fire was too much to resist, and she found herself walking outside, her feet moving of their own accord.

"Hey, Giroro. Sweet potatoes smell good!" Natsumi said. Giroro jumped, looked around at her, blinked, blushed, and turned away just as quickly.

"Uh… yeah," he said lamely.

"So could you make me one?" Natsumi pressed after a moments silence.

"Um… sure," Giroro said, and hurriedly began preparing a second potato. Natsumi took a seat on the cinderblock next to him. There was an awkward silence for a while, neither sure what to talk about.

"So… Great about Kioshii sleeping through the night, huh?" Natsumi asked.

"Great," Giroro agreed, mentally slapping himself for his speechlessness in her presence. _Pull yourself together, man! She's just a girl! A PEKOPONIAN girl!_

_She's also the mother of my child, _another part of him argued back.

_Yes, your genetically engineered child who was made for you by a psychopathic freak._

_Well, yeah, but… she's NATSUMI._

… _good point._

Even arguing with HIMSELF, he couldn't deny that he had feelings for Natsumi. He'd thought, briefly, after Kioshii had turned up, that maybe she would form a bridge between them, but nothing seemed to have changed except that Giroro longed even more for Natsumi to return his feelings so that Kioshii could have a normal... semi-normal... okay, a _less weird_ family life.

Natsumi couldn't think of anything to talk about that would get more than a one-word reply, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"So what's with that belt, anyway?" she asked. Giroro looked at her.

"Huh?" he asked, caught off-guard by the sudden, unrelated, and potentially embarrassing question.

"Well, you get weak if you take it off, right? So, why? Sentimental reasons or something?"

"Uh, yeah. It reminds me of my friends who died in a Keron War, and it's been passed down my family for generations," Giroro said, carefully skirting around the real reason he couldn't bear to be without his belt.

"So you _do_ use it to keep your family close to your heart! I thought so!" Natsumi exclaimed triumphantly, proud that she'd been able to figure it out.

"Yeah, you could say that. My family… they're right her," Giroro said, patting his belt buckle absentmindedly. _Kioshii's my daughter, so that makes us family, right? And the new picture is of Natsumi holding Kioshii, so family is sort of accurate, right? I'm not lying._

"So," Natsumi said, trying to grasp onto the tiny strande of conversation she'd found and expound upon it while she had the chance, but Giroro cut her off.

"Your sweet potato's done," he said, holding it out to her.

"Oh! Thanks, Giroro!" Natsumi said happily, biting into her late-night snack. (well, okay, more like late evening, but whatever)

_Anything for you, my sweet._

They ate in silence for a while, and Giroro accepted Natsumi's thanks wordlessly and watched her back disappear inside as she went upstairs to go to bed. Giroro sat there unmoving, staring into the fire, spacing out a little as he thought.

_Natsumi, mother of my child, I hope someday that you'll be able to love me back._

He lost himself to his wishes and thoughts of an alternate reality, where the feelings were mutual, he wasn't a soldier with a moral obligation to hate and enslave the woman he loved, and Kioshii would grow up with two parents who loved each other.


	19. Chapter 19

See, I'm being so nice that I'm posting two chapters at once! And yes, I know that doesn't really make up for my extended absence, but I'm working on it, I promise!

It was two thirty in the morning when Natsumi finally gave up and got out of bed. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to get to sleep, and she had no idea why. She dressed herself slowly and picked up a book, then marched downstairs so she could read it on the comfort of the couch.

In doing so, she noticed through the back door, that although Giroro's fire had long gone out, the red frog was still sitting on his cinderblock, wide awake, staring up at the moon. She put down the book and opened the door quietly.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked. Giroro looked at her.

"Not at all. You?"

"Couldn't catch a wink," Natsumi sighed, sitting down next to him again. "Which sucks, because I do have school tomorrow."

"I have an invasion meeting, but I can make up the sleep then. The idiot'll probably just have another dumb scheme involving gundam, spas, or some other stupid thing. I don't know why I bother," Giroro replied. Natsumi giggled.

"Well, that's true. And I could probably call in sick and sleep instead, but are we actually going to do either of those things? No," Natsumi sighed. "Maybe I could take a melatonin or something. I'd like to get at least a few hours of sleep in before I have to survive history class."

"Hnn," Giroro grunted in agreement.

"Aren't you going to try to sleep?" Natsumi asked. "You won't be able to run on full energy tomorrow if you don't allow your body to rest."

"I don't know whether I'll be able to or not. I'm thinking too much," Giroro replied, looking back up at the moon.

"Would you if you could, though?" Natsumi asked.

"I suppose, why?" Giroro asked confusedly.

"Well, then, I know something that might help you sleep!" Natsumi said.

"I'm not taking any of your pathetic Pekoponian sleeping medication," Giroro scoffed. Natsumi rolled her eyes.

"It's nothing like that. See, watch," Natsumi said, and in one fluid movement, she rid Giroro of his belt. He instantly turned to mush and flopped onto his side, suddenly weakened and exhausted unlike anything he'd felt before. "It worked!" Natsumi exclaimed.

"Natsumi, give that back," Giroro instructed weakly, trying and failing to prop himself back into a sitting position.

"Nuh-uh. At least one of us should get some sleep tonight. Otherwise we'll both be too tired to deal with Kioshii tomorrow!" Natsumi said firmly. Giroro was about to argue, but a second before he could speak, he fell asleep. Grinning in satisfaction, Natsumi unzipped Giroro's tent, placed him on his sleeping pad, draped his blanket over him, and carried his belt inside with her so he wouldn't wake up and put it back on.

Deciding that she might as well try to sleep as well, she dug some melatonin out of the cupboard, swallowed one, and went back to the couch so she could wait for it to kick in. She picked up the book, but her gaze kept wandering away from the written word and back over to Giroro's belt, which she'd set down on the couch beside her. The temptation was too much to resist. She grabbed the belt and began examining it thoroughly.

_It's just a normal belt, _Natsumi thought disappointedly after a minute's search. She flicked at the buckle in agitation, as she'd been hoping for something dramatic, when she noticed something.

"It's hollow…" she whispered. Excited, she began looking for a way to open it. Now that she knew what to look for, it didn't take her long to find the latch. What she saw a second later effectively ensured that she wasn't sleeping no matter how much sleeping medication she shoved down her throat.

_Me and Kioshii!? I thought he said it was his family… in… oh._ Natsumi flushed. Did Giroro really think of her as family? _It must be because we've been living together so long, I guess…_

It didn't take Natsumi long to notice that there were other pictures tucked behind the one of her and Kioshii, and she moved it out of the way to see the next few pictures. There were three others total, all of her. _This one's got to be years old! My hair's so much shorter! So how long has this been going on…_

_This goes way beyond family, _Natsumi thought to herself. _But there's no way that _Giroro _of all people… _likes _me!_

_But the proof is right here!_

_No, I'm misinterpreting something._

_What's there to misinterpret!? He's kept a picture of me with him at all times for years!_

_Maybe he was gathering information to help subdue me for the invasion._

_But it's just pictures… and quite a few. He must've had a crush on me for a _long_ time._

_Well, yeah, but… he's GIRORO._

… _good point._

The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. Yet, at the same time, she thought back to all the times that Giroro had gone out of his way, once or twice risking his life, to see her safe. All the times he'd been there for her, all the times he'd seemed embarrassed around her for the simplest of things… and she couldn't help but wonder. Just maybe…

Ooh, Natsumi found his pictures! How will this affect their relationship!? What was bothering Fuyuki? You'll just have to wait and see! (and I promise I'll try to update in no more than a week. You can PM me and bug me about it if I don't!)


	20. Chapter 20

I would apologize for my absence, but if I did then that would be at the beginning of nearly every chapter, so I'll just get right into the story.

"Dad?" Fuyuki asked when he finally found him, wandering through the base and taking notes, which was typical for him. Fuyuki remembered doing the same thing.

"Yeah, Fuyuki?" Haru asked, turning to his son.

"It's… about Giroro, Kioshii, and Natsumi," Fuyuki said. Haru sat down against a wall and motioned for Fuyuki to do the same.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Well…" Fuyuki sighed. "Giroro's liked Natsumi pretty much since he got here, if you hadn't noticed already."

"I'd gotten that feeling. I can't decide whether I hate it or love it," Haru replied.

"And… whether he meant to or not, Kululu might've been helping that along when he made Kioshii," Fuyuki continued. "Since they both have to take care of her, they're kind of growing closer and less awkward."

"Oh?" Haru asked. "I wouldn't have known anything was different. I haven't been around this as long as you have."

"Well… I may have a biased opinion, liking aliens and all, but I honestly think they'd be good together, you know?" Fuyuki said. "_Anybody's _better than that Saburo guy."

"She's _still_ got a crush on that kid?" Haru asked incredulously. Fuyuki nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, she does, and I think it keeps getting worse. About a month or two ago, she started trying even harder to idolize him. It's kinda freaky. Anyway, I know I shouldn't interfere, but part of me really wants to put a stop to that, that's all."

"Well, as her father, I still say she's too young for boys, but if I had to choose, I'd say you're probably right. Is there something you wanted me to help you with?"

"Uh… no. I just wanted to make sure I'm not crazy for thinking like that," Fuyuki admitted. "I'm not sure if there's anything we can do."

"Kukuku… I wouldn't say that," Kululu laughed, coming around a corner with a plate of curry. "You know I have video footage from all of our fun little misadventures, right?"

"It doesn't surprise me, why?" Fuyuki asked.

"We could just show her some of Giroro's 'moments' as I call them and let her figure it out on her own. Kukuku… I doubt it will make anything _less_ awkward , though."

"That's true… but maybe if Natsumi finds out how Giroro feels about her, then she'll be more open to returning his feelings!" Fuyuki said.

"Kukuku… good luck with that. Here's my compilation of all the worthwhile Giroro moments," Kululu said, offering Fuyuki a CD.

"Let's enact your strange plan tomorrow, Fuyuki. It's starting to get late," Haru said. "Now how do you get out of here, anyway?"

I know this is a short chapter, but I had to address the Haru and Fuyuki conversation, and it's not really that long. Now I'm going to go back to Natsumi upstairs, and I'm not posting this chapter until the next chapter is also ready to post.


	21. Chapter 21

Okay back to Natsumi…

Her mind still reeling about what the pictures in the belt could possibly mean, Natsumi quickly closed it and put it back in Giroro's tent, not caring anymore if Giroro woke up and put it on. She ran inside and up the stairs, then flopped onto her bed to spend a sleepless night freaking out about her discovery and what it could possibly mean.

_But if he does have a crush on me, that would explain a lot…_

_He's a battle-hardened warrior, Natsumi! No way he'd fall in love with the enemy! Besides, even if he does love you, you already like Saburo!_

_Well… do I, though? I mean, I've been going through the motions of liking him, but, I mean, other than the fact that he's cute and he's buddies with Kululu, what do I really know about him? The reason I can never talk around him is because I can't think of anything we'd both enjoy talking about, and I blush because I'm embarrassed that I can't think of anything to say…_

_You're not saying you'd actually consider Giroro!?_

_Well, no… I don't know…. Maybe?_

_That's it. We've officially gone insane._

By the time the sun had come up, Natsumi felt terrible. She hadn't slept at all, and she was mentally and emotionally drained from the inner argument she'd been having with herself. Despite this, she knew that she had to get up and make breakfast, so she sluggishly got dressed and trudged down the stairs. Once breakfast was made, she went to go wake Fuyuki up, and once that was done, collapsed on the couch, and was nearly unable to move.

"Are you okay, Natsumi?" Fuyuki asked worriedly. "You look awful."

"Couldn't sleep," Natsumi croaked. "Thinking is bad for the health."

"Do you need to stay home?" Fuyuki asked. Natsumi tried to blink herself awake, slowly shaking her head.

"I can still go to school, not problem!" Natsumi said, trying to stand up. She fell over and hit her elbow against the coffee table. "Ow."

"I'll go get mom," Fuyuki said. "What were you thinking about anyway?" Natsumi paled.

"Nothing!" she squeaked, reddening severely. Fuyuki shrugged and went to go inform his mother that there was no way Natsumi was going to school.

"Mom, Natsumi's sick or something because she stayed up all night!" Fuyuki called through the door. Aki was already up and dressing, so she hurried up the process anime-style and flung open the door.

"What!? Is she okay? What happened?" Aki fretted. Fuyuki shrugged.

"She wouldn't tell me, and I've got to go to school. You don't have to work today, right? Maybe you can work it out of her?" Fuyuki suggested, and bolted out the door for school. Aki walked down the stairs, searching for Natsumi, who was collapsed face-first on the couch.

"Natsumi, you okay?" Aki asked, sitting next to her and jostling her shoulder. Natsumi groaned.

"Up all night," she said, shifting so that she was in a sitting position. "Couldn't sleep a wink."

"Care to tell me why?" Aki asked, sitting down next to her. Natsumi shook her head.

"Because I'm insane," she replied. "There's no way!"

"No way what?" Giroro grumbled as he walked in, his belt slung back across him. He glanced at Natsumi. "That was a cheap shot, Natsumi, but… thanks." With that, he blushed and walked off towards the base, and Natsumi curled up in a ball and started hyperventilating.

"No way no way no way no way no way," she muttered. Aki frowned.

"Natsumi?" she started tentatively. Natsumi exploded.

"Don't be insane mom, of course I don't think Giroro likes me because I found a secret compartment in his belt with a bunch of pictures of me in it or anything, why would you suggest such a thing!?" Natsumi screeched defensively. Aki only heard part of it due to Natsumi's speed and volume, but she heard enough to be thrilled.

"Oh, you finally found out!" Aki squealed. Natsumi flinched.

"Found out what? I've found out nothing," Natsumi insisted. Aki grinned knowingly.

"Oh, stop that! He's had a thing for you _forever_, Natsumi! Everyone else has been _waiting for you to clue in, _finally!" Aki said happily. Natsumi shook her head vigorously.

"That's impossible, mom. We're all insane, it's nothing like that!" Natsumi said. Haru walked in with a video in one hand.

"Didn't think we'd need this so soon, but I heard what was going on. Fuyuki had Kululu make this so we could convince you," Haru said, and popped the video into the player, turning on the TV.

"What's that?" Natsumi asked suspiciously.

"Proof that what you aren't believing is true," Haru said matter-of-factly. "Even I can tell, Natsumi, and I just got here. Besides, the way you know Kululu, you really think he chose you as the mother just because you were there when he decided to do this? He has a reason, however twisted, for everything. At least from what I can tell."

_Kukuku… A Collectino of Giroro Moments, Brought toYou by Kululu! Enjoy! Kukuku…_


End file.
